Spink County, South Dakota


Spink County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,361. Its county seat is Redfield. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1879 within Dakota Territory.
WWW Official Site

History

Spink county was formed in 1879 as part of Dakota Territory. It
Folded to South Dakota in 1889. Spink County's population peaked before the Great Depression. In the years following, Spink County became one of the counties with the greatest percentage loss in population as part of the depopulation of the Great Plains.

Geography

The terrain of Spink County consists of rolling hills, dedicated to agriculture. The James River flows southerly through the central portion of the county. The terrain slopes to the south; its highest point is in its northeast corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

Protected area

Adjacent counties

Lakes

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Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,361 people, 2,520 households, and 1,560 families residing in the county. The population density was, and there were 2,983 housing units, of which 15.5% were vacant.
Of the residents, 23.3% were under the age of 18 and 22.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 42.9 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.5 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.0% Asian, 0.9% from some other race, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.
Of the 2,520 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Among occupied housing units, 74.6% were owner-occupied and 25.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,415 people, 2,608 households, and 1,677 families in the county. The population density was. There were 3,139 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 1.2% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 52.6% were German, 11.6% were Norwegian, 10.0% were Irish, 9.2% were English, and 5.5% were American.
Of the 2,608 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.7% were non-families, and 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 44.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,000 and the median income for a family was $60,639. Males had a median income of $40,273 versus $26,139 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,295. About 8.2% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
Several Hutterite communities are in Spink County, including near Ashton and Stratford.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Source:

Townships

  • Antelope
  • Athol
  • Belle Plaine
  • Belmont
  • Benton
  • Beotia
  • Buffalo
  • Capitola
  • Clifton
  • Conde
  • Cornwall
  • Crandon
  • Exline
  • Frankfort
  • Garfield
  • Great Bend
  • Groveland
  • Harmony
  • Harrison
  • Jefferson
  • Lake
  • La Prairie
  • Lincoln
  • Lodi
  • Mellette
  • Northville
  • Olean
  • Prairie Center
  • Redfield
  • Richfield
  • Spring
  • Sumner
  • Tetonka
  • Three Rivers
  • Tulare
  • Turton
  • Union

Politics

Spink County was historically a swing county, but in the past few decades has become fairly Republican. In no national election since 1992 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.